Audi drivers battle for WEC titleAt the finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Shanghai, China, on October 28, two Audi driver teams will be battling for the world champion’s title. 32,000 fans most recently witnessed a close battle for victory in Japan. 11.223 seconds separated Audi and challenger Toyota when the cars saw the checkered flag at the Fuji 6 Hours. With that, the seventh round of the season delivered the closest result to date in the competition between the two automobile manufacturers.

Audi won the manufacturers’ classification in the new world championship as early as in August - subject to the publication of the results by the FIA. Now the Audi racers will be competing for the title in the drivers’ championship on the 5,451-kilometer Grand Prix circuit at Shanghai. Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Treluyer, last and this year’s Le Mans winners with Audi, improved their chances of clinching the title when they finished the round in Japan as the runners-up. They are 16.5 points ahead of their team-mates Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish.

If the Dane and the Scotsman win the qualifying session and the final race, the leaders of the standings have to take fifth place as a minimum to secure the title, which is an achievable task: Fässler/Lotterer/Treluyer mounted the podium six times in succession, clinching three victories in the process. All of the Audi R18 cars in the field are extremely reliable and have finished every race this year, scoring five victories and a total of 16 podium places.

Aside from the factory-fielded sports prototypes, motorsport fans in China can look forward to another highlight. The Audi R8 LMS Cup is holding rounds nine and ten together with the WEC finale at Shanghai. 16 drivers are battling for trophies and points in the company’s first one-make cup that has been held in China as of this year. The GT3 sports car delivers a power output of 411 kW (560 hp). Marchy Lee from Hong Kong is currently leading the standings.

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